Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/850

* IRELAND. 754 IRELAND. imports from foreign countries and British pos- sessions, however, arc considerublc, and arc rapidly growing in importance. These consist largely of grains — com and wheat — from the United States, and llax and tow from I!cl)iium and Rus- sia. The trade policy of Clrcat ISritain applies uniformly to Ireland. Only a few articles like tea, tobacco, and liquors arc subject to import duties. For a discussion of the tariff duties, sec I'inaiicc, under Gke.t Uritai.n. Shipping. The largest i)art of the trade of Ireland is through the port- of Belfast and Dub- lin. Belfast leads, both in the amount of foreign and of the total trade, the total tonnage clearing this port in 1900 having been 2..12.5.0:ifi, while the tonnage entering and clearing, excluding coastwise trade, was 085. 750 tons for the same year. The foreign trade was 72. per cent, greater in 1000 than that for 18H0. The foreign trade of Dublin decreased somewhat during the same period. The total tonnage clearing at the Dublin port in 1899 was 1.-2-2O.700. In 1!»00 the tonnage of vessels entering Irish ports with cargoes, engaged in British trade, was 0.325.17.3, and the tonnage clearing was 4,467.4.34, while the corresponding figures for the foreign trade were respectivelv 178.775 and 8316. BANK.S. Ireland has nine banks, all of which are joint -stock, and six of which are note-issuing. They have all adopted limited lial>ility, except the Bank of Ireland, whose liability is undeter- mined. The authorized issue of notes may be exceeded if specie is held equal to the amount of the excess. The Bank of Ireland manages the public debt of Ireland free of charge. In 1865 the interest on advances to the Government was reduced to 3 per cent. In .Tune, 1900. besides the nine banks there were 559 branch banks. The total capital reserve and undivided profits of these 568 institutions were £11.400.000. deposits and current accounts £47,700,000; loans and dis- counts, £30.600.000. The cash money at call and short notice was £9,900.000, and the circulation, £0,400.000. Savings Banks. The establishment of trus- tee savings banks dates from the early part of the nineteenth centuiy, and of post-oflicc savings banks from 1861. The greater security atTorded by the latter has nnide them much the more popular, and deposits in them have become over three times as great as in the trustee savings banks. According to the Savings-Bank Act of 1S93, the maximum amount which each depositor might deposit in one vear was raised from £30 to £50, and the annual maximum amount of stock which might be purchased was raised from £100 to £200: the stockholding limit was increased from £300 to £500. These changes resulted in a very large increase in the total deposits. In 1893 the trustee savings banks contained £1,380,718 deposits: in 1890, £2,0.35.000 ami in 1901, £2.340- 000. T)e deposits in the post-oflice savings banks increased from £0r,3.000 in 1870 to £3.585.000 in 1890, and £8,289,000 in 1901, The number of open accounts in all savings banks increased from 177,628 in 1884 to 4.32.183 in 1900. Cooperative Cbedit Associations. The want of capital sufficient to secure an improvement of conditions in the poorer rural sections of the west and south of Ireland led to the establish- ment (1895) of cooperative credit associations upon the Raitfeisen system, through which money is loaned to persons needing it. In 1901 there had been 103 such 'banks' established. tioVEKNAiENT. The chief executive oflicer for the government of Ireland is the Lord Lieutenant, who is assisted by a Privy Council. He is the personal representative of the frown, and as such t'ccupies a viceregal position, the maintenance of which is his chief function, l"or this ])urpose he reivivcs a yearly allowance of £20,000. The actual conduct of the government devolves upon the Chief Secretary for Ireland, who is president of the Irish Local Government Board, a member of the House of Commons, and, waeii Irish affairs are prominent in the debates, is a member of the Cabinet, and as such is chiefly responsible to Par- liament for the manner in which the government of the island is administered. Since the .ct of L'liion ( 1800) Ireland has been without a Parliament of its own, but is repre- sented in the British llous<> of Lords by twenty- eight temporal ]X'ers chosen by the wliole body of Irish peers, and in the House of Commons by 103 ccanmoners chosen by an electorate substan- tially flic same as that by which English com- moners are elected, namely, a household and lodger franchise. See Great Britain. The judicial system of Ireland is modeled upon that of England, and the Irish courts adminis- ter English municipal law. The chief judicial tribunal of the island is the Supreme Court of Judicature, wiiich ha.s two divisions — the High Court of .luslice and the Court of Appeal. There are also a High Court of .Xdmiralty, a Court of Bankruptcv. and a Land Commissioner's Court. The House of Lords is the final court of appeal from the decisions of the Irish courts. Minor olTciises are fried by two justices of the peace. Local government in Ireland has been revolu- tionized by the Irish Local Government Act of 1898, which undertook to collect, simplify, and adapt the mass of English and Irish legisla- tion on the subject. Until then the chief county authority was the grand jury. By the act of 1898 this was replaced by a popularly elected council, chosen for a term of three years. The lower administrative units, boroughs and urban and rural districts, were likewise given elective councils. Affairs formerly attended to by grand juries and presentment sessions, such as relate to poor relief, highways, public health, and local institutions, are now administered by the coun- cils. The larger cities were erected into 'county boroughs,' which are exempt from certain of the provisions of the Local Government Act. Incorporated boroughs have a mayor, alder- men, and council, while those which are unin- corporated are governed by commissioners. The borough councils have charge of such local mat- ters as lighting, watching, sanitation, etc. Tho local coiuieils are all subject to the supervisory authority of the Local Government Board, con- sisting of the Chief Secretary, the L'nder-Secre- tarv, and four commissioners. It advises, di- rects, and controls the action of the councils in many particulars, ft approves or rejects the appointment of officials nominated bv the coun- cils, fixes salaries, and regulates their terra of sen'ice. The four commissioners of the board Are appointed by the Lord Lieutenant and re- cciv? large salaries for their services. Finance. The Imperial British s.vstem of finance is applied Ui Ireland in practically the same way as it is to the other parts of the King-